10 Years Down the Road
by PhoeyVerse
Summary: 10 years after Central Perk closes it's doors to the public, and the friends go their separate ways, Phoebe and Mike buy the abandoned coffee shop, and attempt to bring their friends, and their kids back together for an unofficial 10 year reunion. Basically, my head-canon ideas for what a reunion episode would be like. Reviews are greatly appreciated!
1. The Hannigans

A/N: Alright...Out of all the Phoey stories I've written, this is one that they are sadly not together. Although I have a soft spot for Phoey, I wanted to keep this one as close to the show as possible. I would really appreciate feedback in the reviews, hope you like it :)

The sound of Phoebe's high heels clicking against the gritty hardwood surface echos throughout the empty building. Although it's been empty for a few years now, she can still remember the sounds that once filled this place like yesterday: clinking spoons against over-sized coffee mugs, chattering customers enjoying each other's company over a strudel or a muffin. So many memories she held dear to her took place right here, in this old cafe. And now, it's absence of life almost gave her a chill. While feeling around for a light switch in total blackness, a musical note emits from something she rests her hand on, giving her a startle. She jumps back from the unexpected sound.

"Ooh!" finally finding a switch she flicks it upwards, filling the room with dull, florescent light, and a obnoxious buzz. She looks down at the what she bumped into. Mike's old piano, covered in a white sheet of tarp. Her husband must have had it moved into the shop recently. A smile crosses her lips as she looks around, visions of the thriving coffee shop it once was, filling her imagination.

She hears the familiar sound of the small bell above the door

 _ting-ting!_

Three figures appear, shuffling awkwardly through the door way. The one in the middle is her husband, with two teenagers on each side, he holds a hand over both of their eyes. "Alright guys, no peeking...are you ready?"

Phoebe grins with excitement, waiting for their reaction as Mike removes his hands from their eyes.

"Surprise!" she and her husband chime in unison.

They watch their children look around the room, in wide-eyed confusion.

"What is this old place?" fourteen year old Ava Hannigan asks, with a tinge of disgust in her voice.

Phoebe refrains from heaving a sigh, as she should have known her daughter, in her adolescent phase of being impossible to impress wouldn't react with the excitement she was hoping for.

"Don't you guys remember this place?" Mike asks. "This is Central Perk. Or at least it was. We used to come here all the time, when you guys were little kids. You'd get all hopped up on cookies and chocolate milk and run around like hooligans with little Jack and Erica, and Ross and Rachel's kids. Until it went out of business during the recession. It's been empty for years now."

He smiles as he places an arm around Phoebe, pulling her close to him. "This is where your mom and I first met."

Phoebe gazes at her husband, returning his smile. "I remember you woo-ing me with your invisible piano skills like it was yesterday." she plants a kiss on his lips until she hears a dramatic gagging sound from Ava.

"Oh my God, ew! Seriously?"

Their first born, seventeen year old Tobias (more commonly known as Toby) seems unphased by his parents display of affection as he continues looking around, blinking beneath his spectacles. He looks at his parents.

"This is the surprise?"

"Well," Phoebe begins. "Actually...the surprise is that we've bought it."

This seems to get both of their attention, but they still don't seem anywhere near as excited about the news as their parents were to deliver it.

"You know that your dad's been wanting to retire from law for a while now." she continues. "But let's face it. We're not going to able to put you kids through college with our music, or with my job at the massage parlor. And besides, they were going to turn this place into a sex-shop!"

"Gross!" Ava says.

"I know!" her mother agrees. "Like we need anymore of those in this city. Anyways...we thought we'd fix this place up, and make it our own. It's going to be an all organic, vegetarian-friendly, musical deli and coffee shop."

"Musical deli?" Ava repeats, again making it known how unimpressed she is.

"Uh-huh. 'Music & Mocha's'" Mike tells his daughter and looks at his wife proudly. "It was your mom's idea."

"Obviously..." Ava mutters, insinuating her mother's ideas are usually batty.

Phoebe chooses to ignores her disrespectful fourteen-year-old attitude and attempts to explain her visual better. She puts an arm around her daughter's rigid body and points to a dusty, antique style, orange sofa that is very familar to her. "See, people will come in to eat organic food, or sit there, with their coffee, and we'll entertain them! Your dad's gonna play piano, and I'm gonna play guitar and we'll have an open mic for local bands, so you and your band can play here whenever you want. I mean, this'll be a great starting point for you guys."

Ava responds will an eye-roll and mutters "Yeah...right."

"I'm serious! All the greats start out small, sweety. Including me! Mike, honey, don't you remember all the songs I played here?"

"Oh, yeah...all the greatest hits started right here. 'Double Jointed Boy', 'Sticky Shoes', 'Jingle Bitch', and of course, everyone's favorite, 'Smelly Cat'. People came from all over New York just to hear your mom." Mike says, before he yanks the tarp from his piano, creating a plume of dust. He ignores his family's coughs as he sits down at the instrument and begins to play his wife's most infamous song.

Phoebe nods, her arm still around her daughter. "It's true."

Ava sighs and flicks her bob of half blonde, half bubblegum-pink hair out of her eyes. "So then how come you're not famous now?"

"Well..because I never wanted to be. And because I had you guys. But both of you are talented enough to make it big, if you wanted to."

"You did learn from the best." Mike agrees, over his music. He begins to play a more upbeat, jazzy tune. One that Phoebe can imagine customers enjoying in the near future. It was true that both of their children were as talented musicians as they were, even if Phoebe and Mike's taste in music was seen as brutally out-dated by their children.

Ava, who received her first electric guitar for Christmas at age 12, had formed a band with three of her best friends, and had won many contests and talent shows. Toby dabbled in not only acoustic guitar, but piano, like his dad and had quite an ear for music but was shy about his talent.

"And besides," Mike continues, as he plays. "not only would this be a great starting point, but I'm sure the two of you could bring in a ton of customers."

Phoebe takes a seat next to her husband on the piano bench, facing her kids. "That, and you could have jobs here. We're going to need to hire people anyways, might as well make it a family affair."

"Dad, please stop!" Ava requests, ignoring her mother's suggestion. "Nobody's going to want to come here if you play that old crap."

Mike denies her request and keeps playing. "It's not crap, it's from Star Wars! I thought Star Wars was cool again!"

"That's not from Star Wars." Ava argues.

"It's the Cantina Band song! It's from the first movie...awh, forget it." Mike abruptly gives up playing and turns around on the bench. He looks in the direction of his son, who unlike his sister, wasn't quite so out-spoken.

"Toby, what do you think, bud?"

Toby takes a seat on the old sofa, giving an indifferent shrug, as his eyes meet his father's.

Both Hannigan children have vibrant, olive-coloured eyes, much like both of their parents do. And although Toby, with his wavy brown locks, very much resembles Mike at a young age, he has his mother's gentle spirit, regarded as a sensitive, quiet boy by his peers. Ava is polar opposite, and often reminds Phoebe of herself as a teenager. Tough, but with a sweet and caring side she saves only for those she feels deserve it.

"I think it's okay." Toby finally decides.

"Well I think you wasted your money." Ava puts in, her iPhone in hand. "I think we're going to end up in the poor house because of this place! I might as well sell my guitar, now!"

Having about enough of her disrespectful attitude, Phoebe's mom-voice comes out. "Ava Lilian Hannigan, what have I told you about putting out negative vibes in the universe! They're just going to come back and bite you in the ass!"

"Can I go now?" the teen says with a sigh. "My friends are picking me up to go to the mall."

Phoebe starts to say something even angrier until she feels her husband's hand on her arm.

"Let her go, honey." he says, as Ava heads for the door, without their permission.

"Ugh...that kid drives me nuts sometimes..." she mutters under her breath.

"She's exactly how I imagine you, at fourteen.." he mutters back giving her a half-smile.

"But I lived on the streets." Phoebe points out. "What's her excuse? Ava, sweety, wait!"

She rises to her feet before her daughter steps outside, and rushes over to her to plant a kiss on her pinkish bob. "Be home by dinner time, please. We're going out tonight to celebrate. I mean it, or I'm sending your father looking for you.

"In a clown suit." Mike adds, prompting a groan from his youngest child.

"Be safe, okay? I love you." Phoebe tells her.

"Yeah, yeah..." Ava mutters, attempting to leave.

"Ava!" Phoebe says sternly, as she grabs her daughter's hand, waiting for a proper answer.

A half-smirk that reminds Phoebe of her husband appears on her daughter's face. "Love you too, Mom. Bye Dad." she calls and then looks at her brother. "Bye, geek."

"Shut up!" Toby shoots back, but Ava disappears to quickly to hear it.

"Ignore her, sweety." Phoebe says and sits down next to her son on the dust-coated orange sofa. She looks around at the large, dirty window, the ghost of the torn-off Central Perk logo still present. "Man, this place brings back so many good memories. This was where me and my friends hung out all the time."

"Really?" Toby asks with slight interest.

"Oh, yeah. Y'know...before wifi was even a thing, people actually used to go out and drink coffee and socailize, face to face, if you can imagine such a thing. And it always seemed to be busy, but this is where we would sit. Right here on this couch. Me, Joey, Rachel, Ross, Monica and Chandler. And then your dad came along, and well...you guys. But it seems like just yesterday." She gives a thoughtful sigh, as she rests her chin in her hand, still vividly remembering good times, and is soon joined by Mike, as he takes a seat next to her on the other side of the couch.

"Do you really think it'll be like that, again, Mom?" her son ponders.

"I hope so." she tells him. "But it really doesn't feel the same, y'know, without the old gang?"

Mike nods in agreement. "I miss those guys, too sometimes. Did you tell any of them that we bought this place?"

"Well, Ross and Rachel know." Phoebe tells him, as she recalls phoning Rachel to tell her the good news as soon as she got it.

Rachel and her family still lived in the same apartment building, though they had long since upgraded to one with more bedrooms to fit their kids. Phoebe and Mike kept in touch with them, as their own apartment was just a few blocks down the street. They tried to keep in touch with Chandler and Monica, too, but it was difficult, with the distance of their new house. And as for Joey, Phoebe only really saw him on tv. His perseverance in L.A. had landed him some success in Hollywood, having some minor, but memorable roles in some movies and tv shows. Last she heard, he was appropriately the host of a popular tv show on the Food Channel, and also had dated some soap opera actress a few years back, though she wasn't sure if that was true, or just a rumor in the tabloids. Still, it would be wonderful to see him in person again, after all these years. Or any of her friends, for that matter.

She gives a nostalgic sigh as she remembers them all. Her first real friends. More like the family she never had, before she found Mike, and created one of her own. Oh, how she missed them.

Sensing her emotional feelings, Mike places a comforting hand on his wife's back. "We should make sure we tell them. All of them. I mean, once we get this place up and running, it'd be great if they could come and see it."

She smiles at this idea, filling with excitement. "Do you really think they would? Even Joey?"

"Oh, yeah. Just tell him we have sandwiches, and I'm sure he'd be on the next flight out."

Phoebe laughs. "That would be amazing to have them all here. Just like old times, except instead of Central Perk it'll be...Phoebe's Perk."

Mike snickers at the disapproving look his son shot him at this suggestion. "I think we should stick to Music & Mochas, hon."

"It does have a nice ring to it." Toby agrees. "Besides, Mom...I've heard so much about these people and all the things that you guys did, but I hardly even know them, except Ross and Rachel."

"Well, you will." Phoebe declares, she digs through her phone for her purse. "I don't care that it's been 10 years since we've been in the same room together...they'll be here when we open this place, if I have to drag them all here myself."


	2. The Bings

Renovations were in effect about a week after Phoebe and Mike revealed their plans to their children, to transform Central Perk into their own café. The Hannigan family spent a lot of time helping out the contractors whom Mike had hired to get it done faster; reasoning the sooner they were in business, the better.

Phoebe hoped that her friends might offer to help out as well, but oddly enough, other than the Gellars, there was no word from the others. Her call to Monica and Chandler had gone straight to machine. She managed only to reach Joey's agent, not knowing his new number in L.A., who said she would pass on the message to call her back, but obviously hadn't.

None the less, Phoebe reasoned that she'd put her focus more onto bringing the coffee shop to life, and continue hounding them later. She envisioned some sort of huge private party, pre-opening the shop to the public, with all 6 of them, and their families there, for once and for all. It had been so long since they'd been together.

As of now, she decided to stop by the place after work at the massage parlor, as she knew Mike and the kids were there. She was pleased to see her plans coming together, as she steps through the door. With old wood and plaster being knocked out to make room for new material, the place seems twice as big of a mess as it had last week. At the same time, it was oddly satisfying to see the brand new window panes that had recently been put into place, and crates of unused tables and chairs stacked in what had once been the back room, waiting to be used.

Phoebe finds her husband, clad in jeans and a tool belt, going over some blue prints with one of the workers. She decides to surprise him as she approaches from behind and places her hands on his waist, and her chin on his shoulder.

"This is a very sexy look for you, Mr Hannigan" She says into his ear. Mike turns around, greeting his wife with a grin, as he returns her embrace.

"You think so? I didn't think this tool-belt was my style at all."

"Oh, it is. In fact, I hope they let you keep it." She smirks, as she passes her hand through his hair, gazing into his eyes. "Because in my opinion you'd look better wearing only the belt."

Mike gives a small laugh before he leans closer, kissing his wife deeply, only when they hear someone clear their throat do their lips part, and Phoebe realizes that the contractor Mike was speaking to was still within earshot of their conversation.

"Uh…unfortunately, Ma'am, we're going to need our belt back eventually."

"Sorry, Tony." Mike says, slightly embarrassed, despite years of experiencing his wife bringing up their sex life in public. Sometimes, he still wasn't prepared for the things that came out of her mouth. "She was only kidding."

"Oh, no I wasn't." Phoebe assured Mike with a wink, one the man was out of sight. Mike places his arm around her shoulders.

"What do you think of the place? Starting to come along, huh?" he asks.

She nods in agreement. "It is. Gosh, it already looks so different. It's exciting."

"Hey, Dad!" Toby calls from across the room. He's holding a tall, narrow, rectangular shaped box. "The UPS guy just dropped off this package."

Phoebe suddenly gasps with excitement. "Ooh! Ooh! I think I know what it is!"

She runs over to the box, taking it from her son, and reads the label. "Just as I thought! It's our neon sign I ordered!"

"Oh!" Mike says, visibly sharing her excitement. "That's great! Well, open it up, let's see it." He pulls a box-cutting tool from his belt, handing it to her.

"Ava, honey, come see the new sign." He calls to his daughter, who is sitting near the window, scrolling through her smart phone, instead of participating in any hands-on work, glances up momentarily. Reluctantly, she joins her family.

Phoebe beams from ear to ear as she carefully removes the new item from the box, pleased with how it looks. "Wow…isn't it awesome!?" She barely notices the confused expression on all three of her family member's faces.

"It's…great." Mike finally says. "You, uhm…changed the name? I thought we were going to be 'Music & Mochas'?"

"Oh, right...I'm sorry, sweetheart. It was a good idea that you had, but…I just thought it sounded a little..y'know, 'blah'."

"I thought it was your idea." Mike points out.

"Oh…well, then I guess I don't feel bad." Phoebe replies, her smile returning.

Ava however, stares at the sign, her eyebrow raised. "'The Smelly-Cat Café?' Well, doesn't that sound appetizing.."

Her father frowns and gives her a nudge in the arm for her rude comment. "Stop it. I think it's great, sweetheart. It's….very unique. And I like the cute little cat face in the corner."

"I know, isn't it great?" Phoebe agrees. She returns the sign to it's box for safe keeping, until it would be time to officially put it up. "I can't wait until the others see it."

"Speaking of them," Mike says. "Did any of them get back to you?"

Phoebe's smile fades. She gives a small shrug. "Well…no. Not yet, anyways. Ross and Rachel are on their cruise, so they probably haven't got the message yet. No word from Joey, or Monica and Chandler. I guess they're all just too busy…it's not that big of a deal, really."

"Well, I think it is." Mike tells her. "It's a huge deal that we're buying this place. This is going to be a big change in our lives, and if they knew about it, I'm sure they'd be just as excited about it as you are. At least they should be."

"I know, but…honey we haven't exactly talked much over the years." She points out.

"Doesn't matter. They're still your friends, and they should be here. Why don't you try calling them again? Maybe they just missed the message."

Phoebe takes out her phone, staring thoughtfully at it for a moment. She nods in agreement with her husband, and decides maybe he's right. Besides, there was no harm in trying again. She had tried Monica and Chandler's house number, and last time, it went straight to voicemail. Locating the number in her phone, she tries them again, letting it ring a few times. Much to her disappointment, she gets the voicemail, once again. She can't help but smile, hearing Chandler's recorded voice.

" _You've reached the Bings. Thanks for giving us a ring. Sorry we're not in, but leave a message on this thing. We'll get back to you in a….swing_?"

Followed by Monica's distant voice. " _Chandler, what are you doing? I told you to leave the phone message alo-"_

Her sentence is cut off by the tone.

"Hey guys, this is Phoebe… Buffay-Hannigan, in case you forgot. Uhm…anyways, give me call back when you can. I know it's been a while, but Mike and I have something really exciting to tell you. And also…we kind of miss you. So, call us back! Oh, and check this week's paper, if you can, they're doing a story about us! Alright, bye!"

…

Erica Bing pauses to stretch, after spending about an hour in front of her laptop, in the office, writing an essay paper for one of her college classes. She lets out a long sigh, feeling exhausted, as she stares at the words she just typed. She hears the phone ringing. Knowing that her parents are both out, she calls to her twin brother, watching tv in the next room.

"Jack! Get the phone!"

No response. Not surprising. She knew how useless her brother could be. Rolling her eyes, she stands up, grateful for the excuse to leave her computer screen. "Jack!"

By the time she reaches the living room, the phone has gone to voice mail. Her brother sits on the couch, smiling dopily at the screen. She picks up a couch cushion and throws it at him to get his attention. "Hey, stupid…you deaf? I told you to get the phone."

With his eyes still glued on the screen Jack waves her away. "It's probably just a telemarketer anyways. No one calls the house phone anymore."

Erica takes a seat on the edge of the couch, not wanting to go back to her paper any time soon. "What're you watching?"

She recognizes the scene immediately. "You're watching this _again_? Mom's gonna kill you! She told you to delete this off the DVR ages ago."

Her heart almost stops when she hears the front door open, but eases when she hears her father's voice.

"I'm home!"

Chandler Bing walks into the living room, looking as exhausted as Erica was beginning to feel. He drops his briefcase next to him.

"How was work, Dad?" Erica asks, to be polite.

Chandler sighs. "Chipper as ever. I think I might have actually sprouted a grey hair or two. Can you tell?"

He asks, running his hand through his head of long-since salt-and-peppered hair. As he goes into the kitchen for a beer, Erica reaches over and hits her brother for laughing at the tv.

"Turn it off!" she hisses.

"What's so funny?" Chandler asks, returning from the kitchen with a smile on his face. It quickly disappears, and his eyes widen at the sight on their flat-screen tv:

Gordon Ramsay, pointing at a restaurant dish, and yelling at an attractive brunette in a chef uniform. An attractive brunette, who happened to be his wife.

"Guys! Turn it off!" He too, hisses at his children. "If your mother sees this….you know what her therapist said to her about moving on from this! This isn't helping!"

"Dad, it's cool." Jack assures, glancing around at his father. "Mom's not home."

With that news, Chandler climbs over the back of the sofa to join his son. "Turn it up then. This is the funny part…"

All three Bings edge closer to the TV, smiles pasted on their faces, as the camera zooms in on Monica's livid face, ominous music building the suspense. Suddenly, Monica snaps and starts shouting, her curse words being censored by the network.

"Well, obviously they don't have decent chef's in the UK, or wherever the (bleep) you're from, because you wouldn't know a five star dish if it jumped up and bit you in the (bleep)! Do you know how long I've been in this business!? I didn't come this far to have some British (bleep-bleep-bleep) tell me that my dish is too (bleep) under cooked! How (bleep-bleep) dare you! Like anybody can work with these crappy ingredients in this (bleep-bleep) short amount of time! You have no (bleep-bleep) idea-"

The living room of the Bing house-hold erupted with belly laughter from all three of them.

"Oh my God…I've seen this on Youtube so many times, and it's still hilarious!" Erica howls.

"The..the vein!" Chandler cries pointing to the screen, while laughing so hard he can hardly form words. "Look at the vein!"

"Wait, wait….Dad, check this out!" Jack says. Lifting the remote, he presses a button. "It's even funnier in slow-mo!"

The on-screen Monica's voice slows down to a pitch that resembles that of an angry grizzly bear, causing the Bings to laugh twice as hard. None of them even notice Monica's arrival, until she snatches the remote control from a very horrified Jack's hand and turns the tv off. The room falls deathly silent.

"This is great." Monica begins. "I'm glad you're all enjoying this so much. This is exactly what I needed to come home to after an entire day of being laughed out of every restaurant I've applied to…one of which the manager asked for a picture and an autograph, but wouldn't give me the job! My family….treating this as a joke! That's okay…everybody else does! It's been three months and I can't go out in public without someone pointing and going 'Oh my God, it's the psycho lady from Master-Chef, who yelled at Gordon Ramsay and got kicked off the show'! Not to mention, my restaurant had to close down, and I can't find a job anywhere, and we've lost half of our household income, but that's okay, as long as you're all amused!"

Chandler quickly rises to his feet. "Hon, I'll have you know, that I was laughing at joke that I heard at work today. The twins however, were laughing at you. So, anyways…how was your day?"

His wife sends him an icy-stare, looking rather unimpressed, before she storms out of the room. He glances at his children, their near-identical, fair-haired, freckled faces looking back at him with an expression that told him that neither of them would want to be in his place at the moment.

Taking a deep breath, he follows his wife to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, Monica. It's just…sometimes you have to see the humour in a situation like this."

Monica leans against the counter-top, her arms crossed. She lets out a sigh and stares at the linoleum floor. "You and the rest of the world, I guess."

He lovingly places his hands on her shoulders. "Speaking as someone who knows how the media works, trust me. It'll blow over. People have very short attention spans these days. It's like the entire next generation is going to be a world filled with Joey Tribbianis."

He's relieved when this comment brings a smile to her face.

"Luckily, you and I will have probably withered from old age by then, and forget our own names." Placing his hand under her chin, he tilts her face upwards, to plant a kiss on her lips. "You'll still be pretty, I bet."

He pulls her in for a comforting hug, knowing that her stress had gotten the best of her, once again.

"I hope you're right, Chandler." She says, her head still resting on his shoulder. "Going on that show was such a big mistake. I just thought maybe it would put my restaurant on the map. I guess it did…but not the way I wanted it to." She pulls back, her face filled with concern. "It's just…without my job…and our mortgage payment coming up, not to mention Erica's college..I just…"

"Sweetie, don't worry about it." Chandler assures her. "It'll be okay. Jack doesn't seem interested in going to college! We can always dip into his savings."

"But I want him to go to college, when he's ready!"

"Well, we gotta do what we gotta do, for now, I guess. Something will come up for you in due time. We might have to move down to Mexico, and change our names to the 'Bingduardos'…"

She smirks, lightly hitting her husband on the arm. "I'd take about anything, right now."

She walks back into the living room, where the kids are still seated, the TV still off.

"We didn't mean to upset you, Mom." Erica tells her.

"Yeah." Jack agrees. "It's just…it's kinda funny." He tries to suppress a laugh, earning another smack on the arm from his twin.

"Shut up!" Erica hisses.

Monica takes a deep breath and shrugs. "It's alright, guys. It's just been a long day, that's all. Why don't I order us some pizza?"

"Yeah!" the twins agree in unison.

As Monica reaches for the phone, she pauses, noticing the blinking green light. "There's a message, guys. How many times do I have to tell you to answer the phone when it rings? That's why we have it!"

"Sorry, mom. It was Jack's fault." Erica says.

"Was not!"

Monica raises a hand to silence their argument, as she listens to the message. She looks at her husband as he emerges from the kitchen.

"It's Pheebs." She says, sounding surprised.

"Pheebs? She hasn't called us in ages. Is something wrong?" Chandler asks.

"No, she said she has exciting news, and to check the paper." She sets down the phone, and picks up The New York Times for this week, which had been predictably placed in the drawer beneath the phone, by Monica who was known for hating clutter of any kind.

Chandler glances over her shoulder as she begins to flip through the sections. "I'm not seeing anything here…Oh, here's something about Central Perk."

Chandler looks at her with a quizzical expression. "I thought they shut that place down?"

"Somebody bought it…" Monica said, reading the article. "Phoebe and Mike bought it!"

"You're kidding!" Chandler says. "Where did they get the money?"

"Well I remember Ross telling me something about Phoebe winning a settlement over that whole cop-stabbing incident about a year ago."

"Who are Phoebe and Mike?" Jack asks, suddenly interested.

"Mom and Dad's friends, you moron!" Erica shoots back. "Don't you remember anything?"

Choosing to ignore their bickering, Monica reads on. "It says they're going to turn the place into an all organic-deli and café, called 'Smelly Cat Café.'"

"Smelly Cat? Sounds more like something off the menu of a Chinese joint." Jack pipes up. Chandler smiles. He may have not been his biological son, but Jack's sense of humour was incredibly Bing-like, at times.

"Well that's great, for them." He tells Monica. "We should give her a call back and say congratulations. And hey, maybe Pheebs'll give you a job at her new deli." He laughs, intending to make a joke, but Monica doesn't laugh. "You're actually considering it, aren't you?"

Monica shrugs. "Hey…why not?"

"Well, it's just you were a five star chef. It'd be like me going back to my job as…" he pauses for several seconds, tapping his chin. "Great. Now I don't even remember what the hell I did there."

"Well, a job's a job, right? Besides..maybe I could come up with a menu that would really get it noticed. I mean, who knows, it could turn into a whole franchise, and me and Phoebe would be rich!"

Chandler tilts his head, still not convinced. "I dunno…I remember the last time you and Phoebe worked on something together."

"If you're talking about her wedding…I thought it turned out just fine! I mean, she's still married to the guy, isn't she?"

He nods. "That's a good point. Maybe we should just start by calling them back. If anything, we might a get a free meal."

"Yeah, and we're poor." Jack pipes up.

"We're not poor, Jack!" Erica irritably snaps.

"Sorry, Miss-Politically-Correct. We're…Less Fortunate-American."

"Nice.." Chandler mutters, offering his son a fist bump for his joke.

"Guys, be quiet, please. I'm on the phone!" Monica tells them, as she waits for someone on Phoebe's end to pick up. "Hi, Pheebs, it's Mon! Long time, no talk…"


	3. A Mini Reunion

For one of the first times in Phoebe's adult life, she feels proud of the progress she's made, as she enters 'The Smelly Cat Café' for the first time since the completion of the renovations. She looks around, slowly, and in awe of her creation.

'Central Perk' has been kept alive, in spirit, at least, by some unchanged elements: The brick wall. The marble counter top where drinks, and now, sandwiches would be served. Some of the antique furnishings were left untouched. However, it had now acquired vibrant colors to the brand new walls, which were covered in interesting paintings of cats. The floor was painted now black, with gold and silver stars. Phoebe's idea, of course, reasoning with Mike that 'This is the place where stars will be born!'. The most impressive addition was the stage area, which was so much bigger and more profound than it had been in the days of 'Central Perk'. Complete with a very handsome, white grand piano that once belonged to Mike's parents.

"It's perfect." She tells Mike, unable to say much else in her bewildered state. Their vision had come to life before their eyes, in a matter of weeks. It hardly seemed real.

Mike grins, also pleased with the hard work he's put into this place. Brushing a lock of her blonde hair aside, he places a kiss on Phoebe's cheek, enjoying her reaction. "I think so, too. Isn't it great? Luckily we had an amazing interior designer."

Knowing he's referring to her, she turns to face him, her hands around his waist. "Not bad for an amateur, huh?" she says with a smirk before pulling him in for a kiss.

"Mom…Dad! Stop being gross and look over here!" Momentarily distracted, Phoebe turns towards her daughter, who is holding up her phone to take a picture of them.

"What's that for?" Mike question, after the picture is taken.

"I'm gonna post it on my band's instagram, for the grand opening." The teen explains. "A little free advertisement, I guess you could call it."

"Ohh…look who's suddenly interested in the family business." Phoebe teases.

Ava shrugs, indifferently. "Yeah…well…it kinda-sorta looks not bad in here. Not as lame as I thought it would be, anyways."

Mike turns to his wife with a puzzled expression. "I can't tell..was that a compliment?"

Phoebe laughs. "And here I didn't think she was capable of saying nice things to us, anymore."

"Ha-ha.." Ava rolls her eyes, and returns her attention to her phone, right as her brother enters the café, seeming excited about something.

"Hey guys," Toby greets his family. "I just talked to a friend of mine in my media arts class, and he wants to build us a website, free of charge."

"Great." Mike replies, as he lifts a clipboard off of the brand new coffee table to go over a list on the front page. "We've got the advertising underway…I took care of all the licensing crap..we've got our first band, 'The Poison Apples' booked," he jabs his pen in Ava's direction. "Our first food shipment should be here tomorrow, and we've got most of our new menu together. I'd say things are looking promising for our grand opening next Saturday."

Phoebe perks up, her eyes suddenly growing wide. "Next Saturday?" she repeats, with a hint of rising panic in her voice.

"I know." Mike tells her. "I can't believe it either. Only a few days away.. I mean time has really flown by."

Phoebe's stomach plunged, as the reality of feeling unprepared sets in. "W-wait, we can't…but…" as she stammers to form a sentence she is interrupted by the head contractor, with his crew finishing up their last day on the job.

"All finished here, Mr. Hannigan. Except for one thing…where do you want the new couch to go?"

"What? Oh, uh…where the old one is, should be fine. It can go in the trash." Mike tells him.

"Okay, you're the boss. Let's get this thing out of here, guys."

Phoebe can't believe what she was hearing. The beloved orange couch, which she had shared with her closest five friends, year after year, having multiple conversations, and making life-changing decisions, even arguments...all of which were now treasured memories. She watches in horror as the work men pick up the couch, and, in an act of desperation, makes a flying leap through the air.

"NOO!" she cries as she lands on the couch, forcing to crash back down to the ground, much to the surprise of the men holding it.

"Jesus…are you alright lady?" One of the startled men asked, as he grabbed her hand to help her up from beneath the now upturned piece of furniture.

"No, I'm not alright!" Phoebe snapped back, accepting his help, and lifting herself to her feet. "This couch you were about to carelessly throw away happens to belong to me and my friends! Mike, how could you let them do this!?"

"Pheebs," Mike begins. "Honey, look…I'm sorry. I know this couch means a lot to you."

"Uh-huh!" she shoots back, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"It's just that…well, look at it." Mike says, as he tips the sorry looking couch back onto its rather wobbly legs. "It's been left here to rot by the previous owners. It's covered in dust…it's moth-eaten…for all we know it could belong to a family of rodents."

"So what? We were raising rats before we were raising children, Mike!"

Both Toby and Ava look at their father, in the curious way they usually do whenever Phoebe brings up something from her past that seems almost too strange to be true.

"Long story.." he simply mutters to them before turning his attention back to his wife. "Look, sweetie…we're opening in just a few days, and we can't.."

"That's another thing! We can't open yet!"

"We can't?" Toby asks. "But I already gave the date to my friend who's making the website. There's an 'Opening Soon' sign out front that says we open on Saturday."

"And I already told my band we're playing here on Saturday." Ava adds.

"I know, but.." Phoebe pauses, exhaling a sigh. "It's just I haven't heard back from anybody yet. My friends, I mean. I just really wanted them to be here when we opened, that's all."

Mike places a comforting hand on her back. "Awh, Phoebe…I'm sorry. I wanted them to be here, too. But..if they don't wanna come, we can't make them, you know? Maybe they're just too busy right now. I'm sure eventually they'll be able to stop by and see the place, at least."

Phoebe lets out another deep breath, as she considers his words. She feels sadness and disappointment in knowing that maybe he's right. Maybe her friends are just too busy with their busy new lives to care about what was going on in hers, anymore.

Suddenly, Mike reaches into his pocket, hearing his phone ringing. His brow furrows as he looks at the caller ID.

"That's weird. I don't recognize this number."

Phoebe glances at the screen over his shoulder. "Hey! I think I got a call the other day from that number, but I ignored it. Thought it was a bill collector or something."

Out of curiosity, Mike answers the call. "Hello, Mike speaking." He raises his eyebrows with surprise. "Monica?"

A flutter of hope begins in Phoebe's heart at her old friend's name.

"Hey! Yeah, Phoebe's right here. Hang on, let me put you on speaker." Mike presses a button on his phone to make the call audible to them both. Phoebe is nearly jumping with joy.

"Mon! Oh my God! You called me back!"

"Of course, Pheebs! You don't think I'd miss out on some exciting news like this, do you?" Monica replies.

"That's awesome! I'm so happy to hear from you! Gosh, it's been so long! So is Chandler with you? Where are you guys?"

Suddenly, Monica's voice is no longer coming through the phone, but from the same room, behind her.

"I'm right here, silly."

Phoebe turns around quickly as her former best friend walks in, along with Chandler, and cannot resist the urge to run towards them. She nearly knocks Monica down, to embrace her, and then throws her arms around Chandler, as well.

"Monica! Chandler! Oh my God! It's really you! You're here!"

"Yes, well, we wanted to be the first people in New York to be able to say we visited 'The Smelly Cat Café'. I'll cross that one off my bucket list."

Phoebe's grin widens as she turns to her old friend, shaking her head. "Awh, Chandler, I can't tell you how much I've missed your dumb jokes. I haven't seen you both in so long! Wow! Look at you guys! You look great!" she steps back, admiring them. "Especially you, Mon..I really thought you were going to let yourself go, y'know.. after a few years of being married to _him_." She tilts her head towards Chandler.

Monica gives a laugh that may or may not be genuine, as though she's forgotten how to respond to Phoebe's random, unfiltered comments. "Yeah…well, thanks, I guess, Pheebs. You look great, yourself! And Mike! You…well, you kinda look the same."

Mike nods in approval. "Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment. Come on in, guys, have a seat! Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thanks, Mike. We were just in the area and thought we'd stop by, for a quick visit." Chandler explains.

"Wow.." Monica says as she looks around, taking in all the changes of their once favorite hang-out. "I can hardly believe this used to be Central Perk. Look at this place! It looks great…" she gasps when she sees the orange couch. "Is that..?"

"It is!" Phoebe replies. "Mike wanted to throw it out." She pauses to shoot Mike a disapproving look. "Can you believe that?"

Monica takes a moment to survey the state of the furniture piece. "Kind of.." she admits, and wipes her hand over the seat to clear some of the dust before she sits down. "But I can't believe it's still here!"

"I know…I mean, I know it needs some work, but it's like a part of us all, you know? It's like part of the family."

"Ah, yes…our third child. Good old Sophie." Chandler says as he joins his wife on the sofa.

"Speaking of kids.." Monica says, glancing over at Toby and Ava, who are standing off to the side, trying to avoid an awkward introduction to their parents friends, whom they barely remembered. "Are these yours?"

"They are, now." Mike jokingly answers. "They came free along with the couch, I guess, and we didn't have the heart to turn them away. Guys, come over and say hi."

Both teens do as their told and step forward. Ava, however, seems unusually enthusiastic.

"Geez, they were so little last time I saw them! I would have never recognized them! Hi, guys!" Monica beams.

"Oh my God!" Ava tells her brother, her jaw plunging. "It really is her! The 'Psycho Master Chef Lady!'"

"Woah…really?" Toby says, his eyes wide with sudden interest, as they bounce from his sister to Monica.

Monica's expression drops, as Chandler snickers beside her, earning himself a death stare from his wife.

"Can we take a selfie with you? Please?" Ava begs.

"Ava.." Phoebe says in a warning tone. "Guess you haven't lived that one down yet, huh, Mon?"

"Yeah, we heard about your whole restaurant deal…I'm sorry." Mike offers.

Monica gives a heavy sigh, along with a shrug. "Yeah, well…what can you do when someone online starts a rumor that you serve poison to those who criticize your food."

Phoebe smirks to herself as she takes a seat on the couch, opposite of Chandler. "If slander was that easy back in our day, I wouldn't have wasted so much time singing outside of your restaurant that one time.."

"Oh yeah…I almost forgot about that." Monica says, unable to resist laughing about it now. "We sure had our moments sometimes, didn't we?"

"We did." Phoebe agrees. "But, you know, it was always out of love...because we were such good friends."

Monica nods. "You're right…we were. And are still good friends, don't you think? I mean…yeah we haven't been great at keeping in touch. But you've been on my mind."

"I have?" she questions, sounding surprised.

"Oh yeah! Always! I mean, we were always such a great team, Pheebs! Don't you remember that party we did? And you were in charge of cups and ice, and you did such an amazing job! Boy, you sure showed me!" She pauses to give a forced laugh. "And also, do you remember that..that funny time when… I let you live with me, when you used to live in a car? I mean, dozens of other people wanted that place! People who were probably less likely to kill me in my sleep, for all I knew, but…I guess I just really had a good feeling about you, Pheebs! Because you're so…so…beautiful, and unique, and so very kind to all of your friends…"

"Uh-huh..what do you want?" Phoebe eyes her, suspiciously.

Monica scrunches her nose, knowing the gig is up. "Damn…well, Phoebe…as you know, I'm kind of in a bit of a bind, here." She glances back at Chandler. "Both of us are, really. I mean, the twins are starting college this year. Well…Erica is. We'd like Jack to go, too, but…money is a little tight right now, for twin tuition payments."

Phoebe tilts her head, sympathetically. "Awh, Mon….honey, you know that we'd love to help you out. It's just, it might take a while for us to get this place up and running, to get some money together."

"Well…that's why I was kind of thinking.." Monica pauses, clearing her throat, uncomfortably. "I could maybe work here, for a little while?"

Phoebe glances back at Chandler, thinking for a moment, that this could be a joke, but he shows no indication of such. "You…you want to work for me?"

"I mean, if you'll let me." Monica carries on. "I could come up with an amazing menu for you and make everything. I mean I'm more than qualified, Pheebs. I could be your head chef!"

"I know.." Phoebe says, beginning to feel conflicted. "It's just…. _you_ want to work for _me_? Mon…no offense, but I know you. I know how you get when you're not in charge of things."

"Don't we all." Chandler agrees, before Monica turns to shoot him a glare that quickly silences him.

Phoebe becomes silent as well, thinking it over. She wanted to help her friends out so badly, but there was a part of her that told her she might regret it. However, what choice did she have? They needed money, after all.

"Alright, Mon. You can work here. I mean, it really doesn't pay much, but… it's better than nothing, I guess."

"That's fine, Phoebe. Thank you so much. You're a life-saver." Monica says before giving her friend a grateful hug.

"But!" Phoebe pulls back from their embrace, as an afterthought. "We have to agree that I am in charge, alright? Mike and I have put a lot of work into this place. I just…I don't want us to get frustrated with each other like…well, every other time we've worked together."

Monica nods. "Right…I understand, completely, Pheebs. This is your thing, after all. I promise I'll…try to control myself and not get too pushy. I'll just be in charge of the menu, that's it. The rest of it is all yours. I promise."

. . .

It's the following day, and Mike is the first person to arrive to the café, early in the morning..or so he thinks. Before he even unlocks the door, he notices what seems like some lights on, inside. He tries not to jump to the conclusion that they've been broken into, but knows the possibilities, in this neighborhood. He reaches for his phone, just in case he needs to call authorities, and nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels someone tap him on the shoulder. He takes a moment to recover from nearly dropping his phone.

"Sorry, man." A younger gentleman in a navy jumpsuit and holding a clipboard says. "Didn't mean to scare you. You're the owner, right? I didn't know where to unload the truck… I also need you to sign a few things."

"Ohh…you must be the food truck driver." Mike says, feeling a sudden rush of relief that his life was not in danger. "Yeah, we've got a door around back, I'll show you.."

As Mike pushes his key into the lock, the door suddenly swings open, startling him for the second time that day.

"Wait…WAIT! Mike! Don't you dare sign anything!"

It takes him a moment to process what is going on. Before him stands Monica, clad in a full chef uniform, her face and jacket spattered with what looked like flour and other questionable ingredients. She makes a grab for the clipboard in the young man's hands and gives the papers a quick glance. "Let's see here..we won't be needing this, this.. definitely not this…about half the things on this list, we aren't going to need. Here is the new, revised list of ingredients. I know it's a little short notice but there have been a few changes to the menu as of late." She hands the driver a fresh piece of paper.

Mike blinks a few times, suddenly realizing that it was far too early for him to be dealing with this.

"Monica?" he says. "I'm sorry but…how did you get in here?"

"Yeah..who is this lady?" the truck driver, who seems less than impressed with her, demands.

"Phoebe gave me a key," Monica answers "And I, mister, am the souse-chef around here, and I'm saving him a lot of money." She jerks her head in Mike's direction.

"No, no, no…look, Monica, you can't just…"

"It's alright, Mike I've got everything under control." She says, before addressing the driver. "Look, we'll take what we can from this order, but we're going to need the new ingredients as soon as possible. If you don't have them, we'll go somewhere else. Bring it around to the back." She hands the clip board back to him, before pulling Mike inside the café by his arm.

"I know I'm not working yet, but I came in here at 5 o'clock this morning and started working on a few things with ingredients I brought from home. We've got a lot to do, and so little time to do it, after all. Come on.. Wait until you see what I've done."

"I'm almost afraid to.." Mike mutters as he follows her towards the kitchen, before he stops. "Wait a minute…Monica what was on that list you gave him, exactly?"

She shrugs, attempting to remain casual and innocent. "It's just some ingredients we're going to be needing. I've cut down on a lot of things, and worked within our budget..it'll be fine, Mike. Trust me."

"What things?" He presses, more sternly.

Monica sighs and reaches inside her jacket, producing another piece of paper. "Well, this is just one of the recipes, here.."

Mike takes a few seconds to look at the ingredients. "Truffle oil? Fresh lobster? Tenderloin… Quail egg? Look…Monica. This is a just a simple deli, not the Hamptons. This stuff isn't in our budget."

"It is if we're careful! Mike, do you want people to remember this place, or not? When people come and eat the food at 'The Smelly Cat Café ', do you want them to eat 'simple deli food' that they can get at any other shop in New York, or do you want them to eat something they're going to remember?"

"Oh, they'll remember it if they have to pay $45 for a sandwich, alright…" Mike mutters in response.

"And another, thing…" Monica carries on, barely hearing him. "We need to talk about the name of this place. It just doesn't work with this new menu."

Mike pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales deeply, feeling increasingly uncomfortable to have been put in this position. He can already foresee this turning into a huge blow out between Monica and Phoebe…just like old times. He decides that he definitely does not have the energy to deal with this at the moment, and turns away from the enthusiastic chef.

"Uhm…I need coffee…then we'll talk." He utters, making his way to the brand new coffee and espresso station. He's slightly relieved to see Phoebe walk in, and also slightly nervous about how she's going to react to Monica. She approaches the opposite side of the marble counter.

"Hey! Sorry, the kids missed their bus again and I…" She stops, realizing how distraught her husband appears. "What's wrong?"

"Monica…" he mumbles in response, with no need to explain further, as Phoebe seems to understand immediately.

"Pheebs! Great, you're here!" Monica chimes, walking towards her with a very extravagantly plated dish. "You're just in time to try my gourmet hickory smoked Canadian bacon, avocado tomato and blue cheese Panini!"

"Uhm, okay, but did you forget that I'm a vegetarian?" Phoebe replies.

Monica rolls her eyes with great disappointment. "Still? Come on Pheebs. One bite of this and you'll change your mind, forever!" desperately, she turns to Mike, instead. "Mike! You can eat this!"

"Sorry…I can't eat bacon unless it's Kosher."

She heaves an exasperated sigh, setting the plate down. "How can you people run a deli and not eat the sandwiches!?"

"And besides," Phoebe adds. "Where did you get these ingredients? We don't have Canadian Bacon, or blue cheese! Those things aren't in our budget, Monica. Look at you! It isn't even your first shift and already you're getting carried away! We talked about this! You are in charge of the menu _only."_

"Right!" Monica agrees. "Which means…that I am allowed to make changes to the menu items if I see fit! Does it not?"

Phoebe shakes her head with annoyance. "Alright…new rule: You work with the ingredients we give you, or you don't work at all!"

Monica's jaw drops, and raises her hand to her chest, taking offense. "You can't do that!"

"Wanna bet!?" Phoebe shoots back.

Seeing it fit to interject, despite not wanting to, Mike steps in between the warring pair just as they begin to literally point fingers and shout over each other. "Listen…please, guys, let's not do this! You guys are friends, remember? And…and…I really wish Rachel were here. Isn't she the one who usually deals with this?"

Monica and Phoebe stop shouting long enough to cool off, somewhat. Phoebe stares down at her shoes for a moment.

"I'm sorry, Mon."

Monica gives a defiant shrug. "I'm sorry too, Pheebs. Maybe I did get carried away. It's just…really hard to lose my restaurant, you know? I just got so used to working in that high-end atmosphere."

"I know, sweetie." Phoebe agrees. "And I want to give you room to use your creative talents…like I'd really love it if for the holidays, you made that Thanksgiving sandwich that Ross always raved about every year. Or that really delicious meatless Philly Cheese-steak you used to make for me sometimes, when we lived together."

"Oh, the Philly cheese-Portobello mushroom melt?" Monica smiles, modestly. "Sure, I could make that. You're right…I think I can work with your menu without going too crazy. It's just… I might need some help. I need someone with a real palate for quality food with simple ingredients. Someone with who feels as passionate about food as I do."

Phoebe nods in silent agreement. "Where are we going to find someone like that on such short notice, though?"

Mike too, was thinking about who would be a suitable candidate. It was true, that it would be an important job to taste the menu items, before the customers did, and in the short time they had before their opening date. And something neither he nor Phoebe had thought of, until now. As the three stood in silence, thinking it over, the sound of the door chime, as it opened behind them, caught their attention.

Phoebe glances over her shoulder at the stranger who entered. "I'm sorry, we're closed right now." She says, automatically.

"Oh…sorry. Guess I have the wrong place. I'm looking for the owner."

Phoebe and Monica look at each other, their eyes wide at the sound of the familiar voice. They slowly turn around to address the person, unable to believe their eyes. He looks back at them with a similar expression of disbelief.

"No way…"

"JOEY!" both Phoebe and Monica shout in unison.

 _A/N: Long chapter is long! But hopefully this makes up for me not posting in a very long time ;D Also, stay tuned for the next chapter, as I hope to incorporate more of the kid's storylines a little more. I know people like to read about the second generation, and I intended this fic to be more about the adults, but they will still be a big part of the story :D Thanks again for all your kind reviews and for reading this!_


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